First Place

SCRIPTURE

2 Kings 17:24-41 (NRSV)

The Assyrians worship other gods

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel; they took possession of Samaria, and settled in its cities. When they first settled there, they did not worship the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So the king of Assyria was told, "The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them; they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land." Then the king of Assyria commanded, "Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there; let him go and live there, and teach them the law of the god of the land." So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel; he taught them how they should worship the Lord.

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived; the people of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the people of Cuth made Nergal, the people of Hamath made Ashima; the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They also worshiped the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. To this day they continue to practice their former customs.

They do not worship the Lord and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The Lord had made a covenant with them and commanded them, "You shall not worship other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall worship the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. The statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to observe. You shall not worship other gods; you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not worship other gods, but you shall worship the Lord your God; he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies." They would not listen, however, but they continued to practice their former custom.

So these nations worshiped the Lord, but also served their carved images; to this day their children and their children's children continue to do as their ancestors did.


DEVOTION

Today I see a reminder in scripture to be careful not to worship any other god besides the Lord.

Yesterday in church we talked about how we are prone to making family members our idols. It is so easy to place spouses, children, and/or parents on a pedestal where they do not belong.

Also, we talked about the fact that we often worship things--houses, cars, bank accounts, jobs, and other man made articles, but this is very dangerous, my friends, because things are transitory and they come and go!

The only One who is sure, unwavering and eternal is our God; that is why God should be our number one priority! When we think about how good God has been to us, it will be easy to put God first! And when we put God first, scripture promises us that all other things will be added unto us as we have need of them.

Let us trust God today! Let us worship only God in spirit and in Truth. Let us pour out our love and devotion on our loving God who gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

No person, place, or thing, is more worthy of our worship, honor, and adoration than God!

Let us praise him!


Let us pray: Holy and Wonderful God, how I praise and magnify your holy name! You alone are worthy of all of my praise, adoration, and honor. Please forgive me for putting other people, places, and things ahead of you. Today, I give you first place in my life. Please help me to hold you in that place of honor--today and always! I love you and I want to share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

First Place

SCRIPTURE

Ezekiel 20:18-32 (NRSV)

Israel become like the nations

I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not follow the statutes of your parents, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I the Lord am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God. But the children rebelled against me; they did not follow my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; they profaned my sabbaths.

Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their ancestors' idols. Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the Lord.

Therefore, mortal, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this again your ancestors blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. (I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So it is called Bamah to this day.) Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your ancestors and go astray after their detestable things? When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.

What is in your mind shall never happen - the thought, "Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone."


DEVOTION

It may seem strange to us to imagine that people made idols out of wood and stone. In our self-righteousness we may say, "I would never do anything like that! How could they!"

But, it occurs to me that if we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that we can relate to this statement--even in 2010.

For example, do we make idols out of paper (e.g., money)? Do we make idols out of steel (e.g., cars)? Do we make idols out of bricks (e.g., our homes)? Do we make idols out of cows (e.g., leather hand bag)?

I could go on and on, but I think we get the point.

An idol is ANYTHING that you love and/or prioritize more than God. An idol is any person, place, or thing that holds first place in your heart.

This is why I believe that most of us could probably admit that at one time or another we have bowed down before false gods, choosing to serve "the made" instead of The Maker.

Today, I want us to take stock of our lives and ferret out anything that we love more than Almighty God. Then I hope we will be able to offer that thing to God with repentance in our hearts, trusting that God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

God has been gracious and merciful toward us, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love! We are so blessed by God's Unconditional Love that gave Jesus to die on the cross to forgive us of our sin and gift us with eternal life--NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

Let us live into this most gracious inheritance by sharing the good news and living into love, joy, and peace everywhere that we go!

There is NO-thing--and no one--more important than God, who first loved us! Let us fix our eyes steadfastly upon Him who has never let us down! Amen!


Let us pray: Oh God! I confess my sin to you this day. I have bowed down to false and man-made idols. Today, I give you first place in my life and my heart. Please help me to dedicate my whole life to declaring your praise. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta